Great Lives is a BBC Radio 4 biography series, produced in Bristol. It has been presented by Joan Bakewell, Humphrey Carpenter, Francine Stock and currently (since April 2006) Matthew Parris. A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the person they feel is truly deserving of the title "Great Life". The presenter and a recognised expert (a biographer, family member or fellow practitioner) are on hand to discuss the life. The programmes are 28 minutes long, originally broadcast on Fridays at 23:00, more recently at 16:30 on Tuesday with a repeat at 23:00 on Friday.
1The programme originally was scheduled by the guest film-maker David Puttnam who nominated the Michael Collins, Irish nationalist leader) was withdrawn due to "production quality".[1]
great, lives, radio, biography, series, produced, bristol, been, presented, joan, bakewell, humphrey, carpenter, francine, stock, currently, since, april, 2006, matthew, parris, distinguished, guest, asked, nominate, person, they, feel, truly, deserving, title. Great Lives is a BBC Radio 4 biography series produced in Bristol It has been presented by Joan Bakewell Humphrey Carpenter Francine Stock and currently since April 2006 Matthew Parris A distinguished guest is asked to nominate the person they feel is truly deserving of the title Great Life The presenter and a recognised expert a biographer family member or fellow practitioner are on hand to discuss the life The programmes are 28 minutes long originally broadcast on Fridays at 23 00 more recently at 16 30 on Tuesday with a repeat at 23 00 on Friday Great LivesGenrediscussionRunning time28 minsCountry of originGreat BritainLanguage s EnglishHome stationBBC Radio 4Hosted byJoan BakewellHumphrey CarpenterFrancine StockMatthew ParrisProduced byChris LedgardOriginal release24 August 2001 presentNo of series44No of episodes282WebsiteWebsitePodcastPodcast RSS feed Contents 1 Programmes 1 1 Series 0 August November 2001 1 2 Series 1 May August 2002 1 3 Series 2 October December 2002 1 4 Series 3 April June 2003 1 5 Series 4 October December 2003 1 6 Series 5 April June 2004 1 7 Series 6 October December 2004 1 8 Hogmanay Special 31 December 2004 1 9 Series 7 April June 2005 1 10 Series 8 October 2005 February 2006 1 11 Series 9 April June 2006 1 12 Series 10 August September 2006 1 13 Series 11 December 2006 January 2007 1 14 Series 12 April May 2007 1 15 Series 13 August October 2007 1 16 Series 14 December 2007 January 2008 1 17 Series 15 April May 2008 1 18 Series 16 August September 2008 1 19 Series 17 December 2008 February 2009 1 20 Series 18 April May 2009 1 21 Series 19 August September 2009 1 22 Series 20 December 2009 February 2010 1 23 Series 21 April May 2010 1 24 Series 22 August September 2010 1 25 Series 23 November 2010 January 2011 1 26 Series 24 April May 2011 1 27 Series 25 August September 2011 1 28 Series 26 December 2011 January 2012 1 29 Series 27 April May 2012 1 30 Series 28 July September 2012 1 31 Series 29 December 2012 January 2013 1 32 Series 30 April May 2013 1 33 Series 31 August October 2013 1 34 Series 32 December 2013 January 2014 1 35 Series 33 April May 2014 1 36 Series 34 August October 2014 1 37 Series 35 December 2014 January 2015 1 38 Series 36 April May 2015 1 39 Series 37 August September 2015 1 40 Series 38 December 2015 January 2016 1 41 Series 39 April May 2016 1 42 Series 40 August September 2016 1 43 Series 41 December 2016 January 2017 1 44 Series 42 April May 2017 1 45 Series 43 August September 2017 1 46 Series 44 December 2017 January 2018 1 47 Series 45 April May 2018 1 48 Series 46 July September 2018 1 49 Series 47 December 2018 January 2019 1 50 Series 48 April May 2019 1 51 Series 49 July September 2019 1 52 Series 50 December 2019 January 2020 1 53 Series 51 April June 2020 1 54 Series 52 August September 2020 1 55 Series 53 December 2020 January 2021 1 56 Series 54 April June 2021 1 57 Series 55 August September 2021 1 58 Series 56 December 2021 January 2022 1 59 Series 57 April May 2022 2 References 3 External linksProgrammes EditSeries 0 August November 2001 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterTim Waterstone founder of bookshop chain Clement Attlee former Prime Minister of the United KingdomRosie Boycott journalist Sir Ernest Shackleton polar explorerTerence Conran food amp design entrepreneur Andre amp Edouard Michelin French inventors of the detachable pneumatic tyre amp the travel guideRalph Steadman cartoonist amp caricaturist Friedrich Nietzsche German philosopherBarbara Castle Labour politician amp former Cabinet Minister Sylvia Pankhurst suffragetteFrank Delaney writer amp broadcaster Henri Matisse French artistJonathan Miller theatre amp opera director physician Marshall McLuhan communication theorist amp philosopherFay Weldon writer H G Wells visionary authorRabbi Lionel Blue rabbi amp broadcaster Swami Vivekananda 19th century Hindu missionaryJackie Stewart racing driver King Hussein of JordanJoan Littlewood theatre director Brendan Behan Irish writerLord Tebbit Conservative politician amp former Cabinet Minister King Alfred the Great 9th century King of WessexSeries 1 May August 2002 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterNed Sherrin broadcaster television producer amp stage director Sir Donald Wolfit actor manager Humphrey CarpenterElizabeth Filkin former Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards George Eliot novelistSteven Isserlis cellist Franz Schubert Austrian composerLord Carrington Conservative politician amp former Foreign Secretary Field Marshal Viscount Slim military leaderFrederic Raphael author amp screenwriter Alexander the GreatJanet Street Porter journalist amp media executive Marquis de Sade French philosopher revolutionary politician amp libertineChris Barber jazz trombonist amp bandleader Louis Armstrong American jazz trumpeter amp singerSue Limb writer amp broadcaster Lord Byron poetFrank Keating sports writer Tom Spring 19th century bare knuckle boxerKirsty Young broadcaster Katharine Graham American newspaper publisherSeries 2 October December 2002 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterBernard Manning comedian Mother Teresa of Calcutta Albanian Roman Catholic nun Humphrey CarpenterSir Paul Nurse geneticist amp cell biologist Erasmus Darwin 18th century physicianDarcus Howe writer amp broadcaster C L R James Caribbean revolutionary amp cricket writerBea Campbell journalist amp author Rachel Carson marine biologist amp conservationistMuriel Gray journalist amp broadcaster M R James writer of ghost storiesAhdaf Soueif novelist amp cultural commentator Umm Kulthum Egyptian singer songwriter amp actressProfessor Sir Harry Kroto chemist Spinoza Portuguese philosopherSteve Bell political cartoonist James Gillray 18th century caricaturistTam Dalyell Labour politician Richard Crossman Labour politician amp former Cabinet MinisterGreg Dyke media executive Captain James Cook explorerSeries 3 April June 2003 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterBeryl Bainbridge novelist Robert Falcon Scott polar explorer Humphrey CarpenterLeonard Slatkin conductor amp composer Sergei Rachmaninoff Russian American composerJohn Sergeant journalist amp broadcaster Arthur Ransome author amp journalistBenjamin Zephaniah writer amp poet Bob Marley Jamaican reggae musicianSteve Jones geneticist James Hogg poet amp novelistRichard Ingrams journalist amp satirist G K Chesterton writerStacey Kent jazz singer Powell amp Pressburger film makersRichard Holmes military historian the Man in the Iron Mask mysterious French prisoner in the BastilleTanni Grey Thompson Welsh athlete amp broadcaster David Lloyd George former Prime Minister of the United KingdomEsther Rantzen journalist amp broadcaster Queen Elizabeth I Queen of England amp IrelandSeries 4 October December 2003 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPeter Bazalgette television executive Noel Coward playwright composer director actor amp singer Humphrey CarpenterKit Wright writer Samuel Johnson author amp lexicographerKate Adie war reporter Flora Sandes pioneer female soldierJenny Eclair comedian Sarah Bernhardt French actressBrian Keenan writer Bernardo O Higgins Chilean independence leaderBrenda Dean trade unionist amp Labour peer Octavia Hill co founder of the National TrustClement Freud broadcaster writer politician amp chef Tommy Cooper comedian amp magicianArmando Iannucci comedian amp writer Charles Dickens novelistLinda Smith comedian Ian Dury singerAnn Leslie journalist Mary Kingsley writer amp explorerSeries 5 April June 2004 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterLord Alistair McAlpine Conservative politician Machiavelli Humphrey CarpenterDenis Healey Labour politician former Chancellor of the Exchequer Ernest Bevin Labour politician former Foreign SecretaryRuth Lea economist Pyotr Tchaikovsky composerGeorge Monbiot journalist environmental activist amp writer Thomas Paine American author amp revolutionaryBenedict Allen explorer Horatio Nelson naval heroCharles Wheeler journalist amp broadcaster Lyndon B Johnson 36th President of the United StatesKimberley Fortier Edith Wharton writerRichard Eyre theatre director Anton Chekhov Russian dramatistKenneth Clarke Conservative politician former Chancellor of the Exchequer Benjamin Disraeli 19th century Conservative Prime MinisterLord May scientist Joseph Banks naturalist amp botanistSeries 6 October December 2004 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterDillie Keane actress singer amp comedian Gilbert amp Sullivan librettist amp composer of comic operettas 1 Humphrey CarpenterBaroness Jay former Labour Leader of the House of Lords Vice Admiral Robert FitzRoy RN captain of HMS BeagleChristina Gorna barrister Vivien Leigh actressJilly Goolden wine expert Leonard Woolf writer publisher amp political thinkerGerry Anderson broadcaster Burt Lancaster American actorTim Marlow art historian amp broadcaster Marvin Gaye soul singerShami Chakrabarti civil rights campaigner George Orwell author amp journalistMarjorie Wallace writer amp charity chief executive Sir Edward Elgar composerDavid Puttnam film maker Michael Collins Irish nationalist leader repeat of Programme 1 Lucinda Lambton writer amp broadcaster Captain Henry Morgan privateer1The programme originally was scheduled by the guest film maker David Puttnam who nominated the Michael Collins Irish nationalist leader was withdrawn due to production quality 1 Hogmanay Special 31 December 2004 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterEddi Reader Scottish singer songwriter Robert Burns Scottish poet Humphrey Carpenter1Carpenter died on 4 January 2005 this was his last Great Lives programme 1Series 7 April June 2005 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJoe Queenan humorist critic amp author Genghis Khan founder of the Mongol Empire Francine StockMary Kenny author George Sand writerValerie Grove journalist Charles M Schulz the Peanuts cartoonistDouglas Dunn poet Robert Louis Stevenson writerMichael Morpurgo Children s Laureate Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Austrian composerMartin Smith Chairman of English National Opera John D Rockefeller American industrialist investor amp philanthropistYvonne Brown lawyer Marcus Garvey Pan Africanist leaderAmanda Vickery historian Elizabeth Gaskell novelistLord Powell Ronald Reagan 40th President of the United StatesFrederick Forsyth novelist the 1st Duke of Wellington soldier amp statesmanSeries 8 October 2005 February 2006 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterKathy Lette writer Mae West Hollywood actress Francine StockCarole Stone author amp broadcaster R D Laing psychiatristHoward Goodall composer Samuel Coleridge Taylor composerAntony Beevor historian amp Gillian Slovo novelist Vasily Grossman Soviet writerRobert Thomson journalist Zhao Ziyang Chinese premierDerek Wilson historian amp author Thomas Cromwell 16th century politicianFiona Reynolds Director General of the National Trust Beatrix Potter writerAdam Hart Davis historian amp broadcaster Nevil Shute novelist amp aeronautical engineerHelen Lederer writer amp actress Dorothy Parker writer amp poetAnnie Nightingale radio broadcaster Marty Feldman comedian amp actorSeries 9 April June 2006 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPenelope Keith actress Morecambe amp Wise comedy double act Matthew ParrisJeff Randall journalist Andrew Carnegie Scottish American industrialist amp philanthropistJulian Clary comedian Noel Coward playwright composer director actor amp singer Coward was previously nominated by Peter Bazalgette in Series 4 Programme 1Craig Brown critic amp satirist Sigmund Freud Austrian neurologist amp psychotherapistIvan Massow entrepreneur Ella Fitzgerald jazz singerDuncan Goodhew athlete Johnny Weissmuller American athlete turned Tarzan actorFrances Cairncross economist journalist amp academic Ignaz Semmelweis Hungarian physician amp pioneer of antiseptic proceduresAnna Raeburn broadcaster amp agony aunt Tamara Karsavina Russian ballerinaPiers Morgan journalist amp broadcaster W G Grace English cricketerKrishnan Guru Murthy journalist amp broadcaster Robin Day broadcaster amp political interviewerSeries 10 August September 2006 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterChristopher Hitchens author amp journalist Leon Trotsky Russian revolutionary Matthew ParrisGarry Bushell newspaper columnist Max Miller comedianHelena Kennedy civil liberties lawyer Eleanor Roosevelt First Lady of the United StatesJeremy Vine broadcaster amp journalist W H Auden poetElaine Showalter feminist literary critic Julia Ward Howe 19th century American abolitionist social activist amp poetLord John Biffen Conservative politician amp former Minister Stanley Baldwin Conservative Prime MinisterJoanna MacGregor pianist Nina Simone singer amp civil rights activistAdair Turner businessman amp academic Charles Darwin naturalist amp evolutionary scientistSeries 11 December 2006 January 2007 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJoe Boyd record producer John H Hammond record producer Matthew ParrisLesley Abdela feminist campaigner Millicent Garrett Fawcett suffragistKathy Sykes scientist amp broadcaster Albert Einstein German American physicistVictor Spinetti actor Joan Littlewood theatre directorAlan Davies actor amp comedian Richard Beckinsale actorCamilla Wright journalist Martha Gellhorn American war reporterAnne Fine author William Beveridge economist amp social reformerAnn Widdecombe former Conservative MP amp former government minister Pope John Paul IISeries 12 April May 2007 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPhill Jupitus comedian Joe Strummer frontman of The Clash Matthew ParrisNick Danziger photographer Tintin fictional Belgian reporterWilliam Boyd author Anton Chekhov Russian playwrightPallab Ghosh BBC science correspondent Marie Curie Polish chemist amp physicistPauline Black singer amp actor Billie Holiday American jazz singerFiona Bruce television presenter amp newsreader Mata Hari Dutch accused spyYvonne Brewster theatre director actress amp writer Claude McKay poetBarry Cunliffe archaeologist Julius Caesar Roman EmperorPhil Hammond broadcaster physician amp comedian George Bernard Shaw Irish dramatist amp Fabian Society pamphleteerSeries 13 August October 2007 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJude Kelly theatre director amp producer Lilian Baylis theatrical producer amp manager Matthew ParrisDavid Trimble politician Elvis Presley American singerMaggi Hambling painter amp sculptor Rembrandt Dutch artistThe Earl of Snowdon photographer amp Alex Moulton engineer Alec Issigonis car designerMichael Craig Martin conceptual artist John Cage avant garde composerDavid Rowntree drummer with Blur amp political activist Lord Denning judgeJohn Motson football commentator Brian Clough football managerPrue Leith restaurateur Elizabeth David food writerGeneral Sir Michael Rose British Army officer George Washington first President of the United StatesSeries 14 December 2007 January 2008 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJan Ravens impressionist Thora Hird actress Matthew ParrisQuentin Blake illustrator George Cruikshank caricaturistRedmond O Hanlon travel writer Alfred Russel Wallace naturalistSir Richard Sykes biochemist Howard Florey pharmacologist amp pathologistRoger Graef documentary maker Groucho Marx American comedian amp film starJacqueline Wilson author of children s literature Katherine Mansfield writerJoe Simpson mountaineer Hermann Buhl mountaineerSeries 15 April May 2008 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMark Gatiss actor amp writer Peter Cushing actor Matthew ParrisRhona Cameron comedian Charles Bukowski novelist amp poetSteve Cram former athlete Paavo Nurmi Finnish runnerStirling Moss racing car driver Juan Manuel Fangio Argentine racing car driverAnna Ford TV newsreader Paul Robeson black singer actor amp civil rights activistSimon Armitage poet Ian Curtis lead singer with Joy DivisionNicholas Parsons actor amp radio amp TV presenter Edward Lear painter amp poetArabella Weir comedian actress amp writer Joyce Grenfell actress comedian amp singer songwriterColin Dexter crime writer A E Housman scholar amp poetSeries 16 August September 2008 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJon Snow journalist amp broadcaster Lord Longford Labour politician amp prison reformer Matthew ParrisDavid Lammy politician Richard Pryor comedianDavid Attenborough zoologist amp broadcaster Robert Hooke 17th century scientistBob Harris radio presenter Alan Freed disc jockeyGeorge Osborne then shadow chancellor Henry VII kingLesley Riddoch broadcaster David Ervine Northern Ireland politicianMike Jackson army general Bill Slim second world war Field MarshalDeborah Meaden businesswoman Lady Hester Stanhope traveller diplomat amp spyIan Hislop editor of Private Eye William Hogarth painter engraver amp satiristSeries 17 December 2008 February 2009 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterHarvey Goldsmith performing arts promoter Luciano Pavarotti Italian operatic tenor Matthew ParrisMichael Grade broadcasting executive Billy Marsh theatrical agentRaymond Briggs illustrator amp writer Beachcomber columnistDavid Soul actor Dietrich Bonhoeffer German theologian amp Resistance figureTracy Ann Oberman actress Bette Davis American film actressPam Ayres poet Tony Hancock comedian amp actorRachel De Thame horticulturalist Margot Fonteyn ballerinaKen Livingstone former Mayor of London Robert F Kennedy American politician amp brother of president John F KennedySeries 18 April May 2009 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterStuart Hall broadcaster Napoleon Bonaparte Emperor of France Matthew ParrisPolly Toynbee journalist Roy Jenkins Labour politicianDavid Mellor politician Thomas Beecham conductorRuby Wax American comedian Carl Jung Swiss founder of analytical psychologyColin Murray broadcaster Frank Sinatra American singerAndy Sheppard saxophonist John Coltrane saxophonistMichael O Donnell broadcaster amp physician Fred Astaire dancer amp actorMisha Glenny journalist Giovanni Falcone Italian judge amp anti Mafia campaignerSeries 19 August September 2009 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterAndrew Motion Poet Laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson Poet Laureate Matthew ParrisDavid Miliband Member of Parliament amp then Foreign Secretary Joe Slovo South African ANC leaderGeorge Galloway Member of Parliament John Cornford poet amp activistDervla Murphy travel writer Freya Stark travel writerRolf Harris Australian television presenter amp artist Kyffin Williams Welsh artistBoris Johnson the Mayor of London Samuel Johnson writer of the great dictionaryKate Humble TV presenter Miriam Makeba South African singer amp anti apartheid activistPaul Daniels magician Harry Houdini American escapologistJohn Major former British Prime Minister Rudyard Kipling poet amp authorSeries 20 December 2009 February 2010 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterSir Ranulph Fiennes explorer Henry V King of England Matthew ParrisRich Hall stand up comedian Tennessee Williams American dramatistNeil Innes musician amp performer Vivian Stanshall musician amp comic writerMunira Mirza London Mayoral advisor on arts amp culture Hannah Arendt German American political philosopherChristopher Biggins actor amp television presenter Nero Roman EmperorJenny Agutter actress Lise Meitner Austrian physicistDavid Bailey photographer Pablo Picasso Spanish artistJohn Williams composer Agustin Barrios Mangore Paraguayan guitaristRichard Dawkins ethologist amp evolutionary biologist Bill Hamilton evolutionary theoristSeries 21 April May 2010 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJohn Godber playwright Bertolt Brecht writer amp theatre director Matthew ParrisClive Stafford Smith human rights lawyer Robin Hood folklore heroPeter White broadcaster Douglas Jardine England cricket captainJohn Lloyd comedy writer amp television producer Richard Buckminster Fuller architect amp futuristStuart Rose chairman of Marks amp Spencer Matthew Flinders cartographerBaroness Sarah Hogg economist amp journalist Charlotte Guest polymath amp businesswomanBrian Cox physicist Carl Sagan astronomer amp astrophysicistViv Anderson England footballer Arthur Wharton athlete amp football playerSeries 22 August September 2010 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJohn Harris journalist amp author John Lennon musician Matthew ParrisBettany Hughes historian Sappho Ancient Greek poetDominic Sandbrook historian Richard Nixon 37th President of the United StatesCamila Batmanghelidjh founder of Kids Company Mary Carpenter educational amp social reformerEleanor Bron actress Simone Weil French philosopher amp mysticEdwina Currie former Member of Parliament amp government minister Golda Meir former Prime Minister of IsraelDigby Jones former director of the CBI Winston Churchill former Prime Minister of the United KingdomRobert Winston surgeon scientist broadcaster and politician Michel de Montaigne writers of the French RenaissanceGerald Scarfe cartoonist Walt Disney animatorSeries 23 November 2010 January 2011 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMark Borkowski public relations Malcolm McLaren impresario amp talent manager Matthew ParrisJohn Hegley poet D H Lawrence novelistGerry Robinson businessman Samuel Beckett Irish playwrightLionel Blair dancer amp television personality Sammy Davis Jr dancer singer amp entertainerNeil Kinnock former Leader of the Labour Party Aneurin Bevan founder of the NHS amp Labour Cabinet MinisterBarry Cryer comedian J B Priestley novelist amp playwrightJim Al Khalili Iraqi born physicist Gertrude Bell writer traveller politician amp administratorKatherine Whitehorn journalist Mary Stott campaigning journalistKwame Kwei Armah playwright amp actor Marcus Garvey African American political leader 1Garvey was previously nominated by Yvonne Brown in Series 7 Programme 7 1Series 24 April May 2011 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterClive Sinclair British inventor Thomas Edison American inventor Matthew ParrisCharles Hazlewood conductor Leonard Bernstein conductor amp composerDiana Quick actress Simone de Beauvoir French philosopherSue MacGregor broadcaster Kathleen Ferrier contralto singerLynne Truss writer amp journalist Lewis Carroll author of Alice in Wonderland amp mathematicianCaroline Lucas British Green MP Petra Kelly German Green politicianMatthew Syed sports journalist Jack Johnson the Galveston Giant boxerDiane Abbott Member of Parliament Harold Pinter playwrightSeries 25 August September 2011 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterTim Butcher journalist Graham Greene author amp critic Matthew ParrisJanice Long broadcaster Kirsty MacColl singer songwriterGwyneth Lewis poet Emily Dickinson American poetAntonio Carluccio Italian restaurateur Eduardo Paolozzi artistDaisy Goodwin broadcaster amp poetry curator William Shakespeare poet amp playwrightSimon Day comedian amp actor Hans Fallada German writerSimon Jenkins journalist Edwin Lutyens architectCerys Matthews musician Hildegard of Bingen German mysticGraeme le Saux former England footballer Gerald Durrell author amp conservationistSeries 26 December 2011 January 2012 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMichael Sheen actor Philip K Dick science fiction writer Matthew ParrisRaymond Tallis philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein German philosopherSteven Pinker psychologist amp cognitive scientist Thomas Hobbes philosopherBrian Sewell art critic Ludwig II of BavariaJim Carter actor Lonnie Donegan skiffle musicianMartin Rees astrophysicist Joseph Rotblat physicist amp campaigner against nuclear weaponsEmma Kennedy actress Gracie Allen comedianClare Gerada doctors leader Vera Brittain writer feminist amp pacifistBaroness Warsi Conservative politician amp former government minister Razia Sultana 13th century Indian princessSeries 27 April May 2012 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterOwen Sheers Welsh poet Dylan Thomas Welsh poet Matthew ParrisWill Self journalist amp novelist Oscar Wilde Irish dramatist amp writerErin Pizzey writer amp campaigner Gertrude Stein writer philanthropist amp art collectorTom Robinson singer broadcaster amp activist George Lyward educationalist teacher amp psychotherapist who worked at Finchden ManorAlexei Sayle comedian Edward Said Palestinian American literary theorist amp campaigner for Palestinian rightsEric Pickles politician John Ford American film directorDiana Athill British literary editor novelist amp memoirist Francisco Goya Spanish painterLynn Barber British journalist amp interviewer Sebastian Walker founder of Walker Books a publishing house for childrenSeries 28 July September 2012 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterDes Lynam sports commentator Henry Cooper English heavyweight boxer Matthew ParrisJanine di Giovanni foreign correspondent amp author Josephine Bonaparte wife of Napoleon BonaparteRory Stewart Conservative Member of Parliament author amp adventurer Sir Walter Scott Scottish novelistBill Paterson actor Leonard Maguire Scottish actorNatalie Haynes comedian Juvenal Roman poetKen Dodd comedian Stan Laurel film actor amp one half of the duo Laurel and HardyStephen Frears film director Karel Reisz film directorAlan Johnson politician amp former Labour Home Secretary George Orwell writerNaomi Wolf commentator amp author of The Beauty Myth Edith Wharton novelist wit amp feministSeries 29 December 2012 January 2013 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMartin Broughton chairman of British Airways amp the British Horse Racing Board Dick Francis crime novelist amp former jockey Matthew ParrisFrancesca Simon children s writer amp author of the Horrid Henry books Jean Cocteau French writer artist amp film directorLemn Sissay author amp broadcaster Prince Alemayehu favourite prince of Queen VictoriaStuart Maconie radio presenter amp music critic Ralph Vaughan Williams composer amp folk music collectorRichard Herring comedian Grigori Rasputin Russian Orthodox mysticMax Mosley former president of the Federation Internationale de l Automobile FIA John Stuart Mill philosopherLaurence Llewelyn Bowen interior designer Aubrey Beardsley artist of the Aesthetic movementGrace Dent journalist Nancy Mitford novelist amp biographerCarol Klein gardening expert William Robinson Irish born journalist amp gardenerSeries 30 April May 2013 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPeter Hitchens author amp columnist George Bell Anglican theologian amp bishop Matthew ParrisBobby Friction DJ amp presenter Galileo Galilei Italian pioneer astronomerChris Tarrant television presenter Kenny Everett comedian and former disc jockeyJohn Blashford Snell explorer David Livingstone explorerGyles Brandreth writer amp broadcaster Arthur Conan Doyle authorJustine Roberts founder of Mumsnet a website for parents Bill Shankly football managerJohn Cooper Clarke poet Salvador Dali Spanish surrealist painterEdmund de Waal ceramicist amp writer Primo Levi Italian Holocaust survivor writer amp chemistDr Lucy Worsley Chief Curator at Historic Royal Palaces Florence Nightingale nurse health administrator amp statisticianSeries 31 August October 2013 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterRussell Grant astrologer amp broadcaster Ivor Novello composer amp actor Matthew ParrisGabriel Gbadamosi playwright Fela Kuti Nigerian musicianTanika Gupta Rabindranath Tagore Indian poetJulie Burchill writer Ava Gardner American film starPaul Mason journalist and broadcaster Louise Michel 19th century French anarchistPeter Bowles actor George Devine theatre directorKonnie Huq television presenter amp writer Ada Lovelace computing pioneerBrendan Barber trade unionist John Steinbeck American novelistAl Murray comedian Bernard Montgomery WW2 British GeneralSeries 32 December 2013 January 2014 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterRicky Ross singer with Deacon Blue Hank Williams singer songwriter Matthew ParrisMichael Horovitz poet Allen Ginsberg Beat poetMeg Rosoff novelist Isabella Bird Victorian travellerDavid Chipperfield architect Le Corbusier Swiss French architectDavid Baddiel comedian John Updike novelistAdil Ray actor amp TV personality Dave Allen comedianMark Constantine businessman amp founder of Lush cosmetics Kahlil Gibran poetSara Cox radio presenter Lisa Left Eye Lopes hip hop artistSeries 33 April May 2014 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterEvelyn Glennie percussionist Jacqueline du Pre cellist Matthew ParrisSarah Vine newspaper columnist Dante Alighieri 12th 13th century Italian poetMark Walport Chief Scientific Adviser Hans Sloane art collector amp benefactor of the British MuseumMarcus du Sautoy mathematician Jorge Luis Borges Argentinian writerDeborah Moggach novelist Arnold Bennett 19th century novelistIsy Suttie comedian musician amp actor Jake Thackray singer songwriterJohn Craven journalist amp television presenter Isambard Kingdom Brunel 19th century British engineerEmma Kirkby soprano singer Henry Purcell 17th century composerMichael Palin Python writer amp broadcaster Ernest Hemingway American writerSeries 34 August October 2014 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJonathan Meades writer amp broadcaster Edward Burra artist Matthew ParrisJazzie B DJ amp music entrepreneur James Brown American singerOona King politician Ida B Wells American journalist amp civil rights leaderRay Mears woodsman amp TV presenter Rommel German field marshal of World War IITom Shakespeare sociologist Gramsci Italian Marxist politicianLabi Siffre poet amp singer songwriter Arthur Ransome author amp journalistStella Rimington former Director General of MI5 amp writer Dorothy L Sayers crime writerAndrew Adonis Baron Adonis politician amp academic Joseph Bazalgette Victorian engineer responsible for London s main sewersEdith Hall classicist Lucille Ball American actress amp comedianSeries 35 December 2014 January 2015 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterArthur Smith comedian Emil Zatopek Czechoslovak distance runner Matthew ParrisLaura Bates feminist writer Louisa May Alcott 19th century American author of Little WomenBrian Eno musician Michael Young sociologist amp politicianTom Solomon neurologist Roald Dahl children s writerPhilippa Langley historian Richard III 15th century King of EnglandMichael Dobbs politician amp novelist Guy Burgess spyEve Pollard journalist amp former newspaper editor Nora Ephron American screenwriterMervyn King former Governor of the Bank of England Risto Ryti Governor of Bank of Finland and Prime Minister and President of Finland during World War IISeries 36 April May 2015 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterTrevor McDonald news presenter Learie Constantine Trinidadian cricketer amp politician Matthew ParrisRachel Johnson author amp journalist Lady Ottoline Morrell literary hostess amp associate of the Bloomsbury GroupKulvinder Ghir comedian amp actor Zoran Music Slovene artist amp survivor of DachauHelen Ghosh Director General of the National Trust James Lees Milne writer amp expert on country housesWendy Cope poet John Clare 19th century poetAntonia Quirke film critic Marlon Brando American actorMatthew Barzun American ambassador John Gil Winant American ambassador to UK 1941 46David Blunkett blind politician Louis Braille 18th century French inventor of BrailleVal McDermid crime writer P D James crime writerSeries 37 August September 2015 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterIan McKellen actor Edmund Hillary mountaineer amp explorer Matthew ParrisVicky Pryce Greek born former British Government economist Melina Mercouri Greek actress singer amp politicianMichael Howard former Conservative Party leader Queen Elizabeth I English monarchAde Adepitan television personality amp Paralympian George Washington Williams American Civil War veteran amp historianMonica Ali novelist Richard Francis Burton explorer amp adventurerFrances Crook prison reformist Barbara Castle Labour Party politician amp former Cabinet MinisterHannah Rothschild philanthropist amp documentary filmmaker Thelonious Monk jazz musicianNick Stadlen former High Court judge Bram Fischer South African lawyer amp anti apartheid activistToyah Willcox singer amp actress Katharine Hepburn Hollywood actressSeries 38 December 2015 January 2016 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterDickie Bird cricket umpire Sir Leonard Hutton English cricketer Matthew ParrisRoger Saul founder of the Mulberry fashion label Gertrude Jekyll garden designerAlvin Hall financial journalist James Baldwin African American writerPrecious Lunga epidemiologist Wangari Maathai Kenyan environmental and political activistMartin Jennings sculptor Charles Sargeant Jagger sculptor of British World War One war memorialsSusan Calman Scottish comedian Molly Weir Scottish actressNitin Sawhney musician amp producer Jeff Buckley singer songwriterEliza Manningham Buller former Director General of MI5 Abraham Lincoln 16th President of the United StatesSeries 39 April May 2016 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterAnthony Horowitz novelist amp screenwriter Alfred Hitchcock film director Matthew ParrisNancy Dell Olio lawyer Lucrezia Borgia Italian princessesRay Peacock Comedian Lenny Bruce ComedianSudha Bhuchar actress Zohra Sehgal Indian actressGraeme Lamb SAS commando Christine Granville spyTimmy Mallett TV presenter Richard the Lionheart KingCharles Moore journalist Gordon Hamilton Fairley medical oncologyAnn Limb chair of the Scout Association George Fox founder of the QuakerFrank Turner folk singer Joseph Grimaldi comedianSeries 40 August September 2016 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterHilary Devey television personality Gracie Fields actress Matthew ParrisAlex Salmond Scottish former First Minister Thomas Muir Father of Scottish Democracy Sara Pascoe stand up comedian Virginia Woolf writerGeorgina Godwin journalist Dag Hammarskjold Secretary General of the United NationsTony Hawks comedian Marshall Rosenberg psychologistMaureen Lipman actress Cicely Saunders nurseEliza Carthy folk musician Caroline Norton poetA A Gill writer Neville Chamberlain former Prime Minister of the United KingdomCyrus Todiwala chef Dadabhai Naoroji first British Indian MPSeries 41 December 2016 January 2017 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterLucy Porter comedian Cary Grant American actor Matthew ParrisBen Kingsley actor Elie Wiesel Romanian born American Jewish Nobel laureateOrlando Murrin food writer Dinu Lipatti Romanian pianistRuth Holdaway sports personality Helen Rollason sports journalistSuzannah Lipscomb historian C S Lewis novelistAkram Khan choreographer Srinivasa Ramanujan mathematicianLen Goodman dancer Lionel Bart composerChris Patten Chancellor of the University of Oxford Pope John XXIII popeSeries 42 April May 2017 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterGary Kemp songwriter Edward William Godwin architect Matthew ParrisGermaine Greer feminist writer Dame Elisabeth Frink sculptorErmonela Jaho soprano Mother Teresa nunAnton du Beke dancer Arnold Palmer golferPeaches Golding consultant Shirley Chisholm Member of U S Congress Dem Steven Knight screenwriter Sitting Bull Lakota chiefSue Cameron columnist Emma of Normandy queen consortPeter Williams businessman Steve Jobs co founder of Apple IncIain Lee broadcaster Andy Kaufman entertainer and performance artistSeries 43 August September 2017 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMaxine Peake actor Ellen Wilkinson Labour MP amp Cabinet Minister Matthew ParrisStephen Fry comedian actor amp writer P G Wodehouse writer creator of JeevesSathnam Sanghera journalist amp author Alexander Gardner explorerDon McCullin photojournalist Norman Lewis travel writerTracy Chevalier novelist Mary Anning fossil collector amp working class woman from Lyme RegisHelen Sharman first British in space Elsie Widdowson dietitianNicholas Stern Economist Muhammad Ali boxer amp civil rights activistAndrea Catherwood presenter amp journalist Constance Markievicz Irish politician amp suffragetteHelena Morrissey City boss Rachael Heyhoe Flint cricketer amp businesswomanSeries 44 December 2017 January 2018 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterWill Gregory musician Flann O Brien novelist Matthew ParrisCornelia Parker sculptor Marcel Duchamp French painterLouise Richardson political scientist Daniel O Connell BarristerNazir Afzal Chief Crown Prosecutor Mahatma Gandhi Indian independence leaderHelen Arney presenter Hertha Ayrton physicist and suffragetteGisela Stuart Labour MP Joseph Chamberlain Liberal MPJustin Marozzi historian Herodotus Ancient Greek historianLiza Tarbuck actress Nikola Tesla Serbian inventorSeries 45 April May 2018 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterVic Reeves comedian actor and artist Captain Beefheart American musician Matthew ParrisAyesha Hazarika comedian and political commentator Jayaben Desai trade unionistAdrian Utley musician Miles Davis American jazz musicianLaura Serrant professor Audre Lorde American poet and activistTej Lalvani businessman Richard Feynman American theoretical physicist Simon Callow actor Orson Welles American actorMica Paris soul singer Josephine Baker American Vaudeville performerSuzy Klein TV and Radio presentator Hedy Lamarr actressBarbara Stocking former head of Oxfam Catherine the Great Empress of RussiaSeries 46 July September 2018 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterHanif Kureishi writer David Bowie musician Matthew ParrisErica Wagner former literary editor of The Times Roald Amundsen Norwegian polar explorerSimon Evans comedian John Stuart Mill philosopherPatricia Greene actor Elizabeth Countess of ShrewsburyHelen Glover Olympic rower Alison Hargreaves mountaineerGreg Jenner historian Gene Kelly American dancerCherie Blair barrister Rose Heilbron England s first woman judge Mark Carwardine zoologist Douglas Adams writerChristina Lamb author and correspondent Benazir Bhutto former Prime Minister of PakistanSeries 47 December 2018 January 2019 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterSamira Ahmed freelance journalist Laura Ingalls Wilder American writer Matthew ParrisRussell Kane writer comedian Evelyn Waugh English writerTim Smit businessman Humphrey Jennings English documentary filmmakerMark Steel comedian Charlie Chaplin actor and comedianNikesh Shukla author Ghulam Mohammad Great Gama Pakistani wrestlerSuzanne O Sullivan neurologist Oliver Sacks neurologist and authorRohan Silva entrepreneur columnist former policy advisor to David Cameron and George Osborne Colin Chapman creator of Lotus CarsMatt Lucas comedian screenwriter actor Freddie Mercury musician songwriter lead vocalist of QueenSeries 48 April May 2019 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterShappi Khorsandi comedian Emma Lady Hamilton spouse of Lord Nelson Matthew ParrisHelen Lewis journalist Catherine de Medici Queen consort of FranceTom Holland historian Aethelflaed Lady of the MerciansIan McMillan poet Malcolm Lowry writerKirill Gerstein Russian American pianist Ferruccio Busoni composerCaroline Criado Perez feminist campaigner Jane Austen writerJeremy Deller artist Brian Epstein The Beatles managerShirley Collins folk singer Alan Lomax American song hunterKamila Shamsie writer Asma Jahangir human rights lawyerSeries 49 July September 2019 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterLucy Irvine adventurer and author Robinson Crusoe fictional characters Matthew ParrisEd Balls British Labour and Co operative politician Herbert Howells composerLaura Marling folk singer songwriter Lou Andreas Salome first woman psychoanalystCaroline Quentin actress Sir John Vanbrugh playwright and architectShaun Ley Broadcaster Ramsay MacDonald First UK Labour Prime MinisterPhilippa Perry psychotherapist Maria Montessori Italian educatorFiona Shaw actress Eleonora Duse actressSindhu Vee comedian Prince Rogers NelsonChibundu Onuzo author Constance Cummings John Sierra Leonean educationistSeries 50 December 2019 January 2020 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPeter Oborne journalist William Brown and his creator Richmal Crompton Matthew ParrisLindsey Hilsum Channel 4 News reporter Lee Miller War photographer and modelJeremy Paxman broadcaster Nicholas Ashley Cooper 12th Earl of Shaftesbury Victorian era politicianJanice Turner journalist Enid Blyton novelistBill Bailey comedian Alfred Russel Wallace naturalistKen Clarke politician Charlie Parker Jazz sax playerJosie Long comedian Kurt Vonnegut American authorAndi Oliver chef Toni Morrison American Nobel Prize winning authorSeries 51 April June 2020 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterRick Stein chef Jim Morrison rock singer Matthew ParrisFrank Cottrell Boyce script writer Tove Jansson creator of MoominKate Stables musician Ursula K Le Guin American authorOlivette Otele historian Maya Angelou African American writerDaniel Rigby TV author Victoria Wood comedianSally Phillips comedian Myrna Loy American film actressAnand Menon political scientist Billy Bremner footballerSara Wheeler author Sybille Bedford authorDolly Alderton author Doris Day American actressSeries 52 August September 2020 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMargaret MacMillan Canadian historian Benito Mussolini Italian fascist dictator Matthew ParrisJessie Burton author Frida Kahlo Mexican painterPeter Frankopan historian Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Soviet rocket scientistJessie Ware English singer Donna Summer American singerFrances O Grady trade unionist Ernest Bevin Labour politician and trade unionistTom Allen comedian Kenneth Williams English actorDavid Adjaye Ghanaian British architect Okwui Enwezor Nigerian curatorJames Graham playwright John Maynard Keynes economistMichael Wood historian Xuanzang Chinese monk and travellerSeries 53 December 2020 January 2021 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterPhilippa Gregory novelist Katherine Parr sixth wife of Henry VIII Matthew ParrisDavid Spiegelhalter professor Frank Ramsey mathematicianDiane Morgan comedian Hugh Dowding Air Chief MarshalRobert Rinder barrister Jessica Mitford civil rights activist and investigative journalistDavid Jonsson actor Jean Michel Basquiat American artistCaroline Catz actor Delia Derbyshire composerCori Crider human rights lawyer Cesar Chavez Rights activistSeries 54 April June 2021 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterJonathan Kent director Patricia Highsmith author of The Talented Mr Ripley Matthew ParrisYasmin Alibhai Brown journalist and author Chinua Achebe novelistEddie Piller broadcaster and record producer Kenny Lynch singer songwriter entertainerKT Tunstall singer songwriter Ivor Cutler poet author artist and humoristJonathan Dimbleby broadcaster Harry Hopkins American statesmanArlo Parks singer songwriter Elliott Smith singerBen Miller actor comedian and author William Hazlitt critic and essayistRosie Millard journalist and broadcaster Edward III of England kingSeries 55 August September 2021 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterMichael Booth author Hans Christian Andersen author Matthew ParrisTasmin Little violinist Yehudi Menuhin violinistDevi Sridhar professor of global public health Althea Gibson tennis playerLindsay Johns writer and broadcaster Frantz Fanon psychiatrist and philosopherTristram Hunt director of the V amp A Josiah Wedgwood master potterPeggy Seeger folk singer Ewan MacColl folk singer and activistDorothy Byrne president of Murray Edwards College Catherine of Siena saint mystic activist and authorYanis Varoufakis politician and economist Hypatia ancient Greek mathematicianRuth Rogers chef and restaurateur James Baldwin African American writerSeries 56 December 2021 January 2022 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterNiall Ferguson historian J R R Tolkien author of The Lord of the Rings Matthew ParrisRory Sutherland marketing guru Johnny Ramone musicianNina Sosanya actor Jeanne Baret first female circumnavigatorPriyanga Burford actor Noor un Nissa Inayat Khan princess and WWII special agentRichard Walker MD of Iceland William Lever founder of UnileverLady Hale judge Lady Rhondda suffragette and businesswomanRoma Agrawal engineer and author Mrinalini Sarabhai Indian classical dancerHenry Normal poet Spike Milligan author and GoonSeries 57 April May 2022 Edit Guest Nominee PresenterBrian Cox actor Lindsay Anderson film director Matthew ParrisDonald Macintyre journalist Tom Hopkinson newspaper editorJanet Ellis Blue Peter presenter Kaye Webb Puffin Books editorLolita Chakrabarti playwright and actor Ira Aldridge actorJoe Swift garden designer Gil Scott Heron poet and musicianTerry Christian Tony Wilson Mr Manchester Rob Newman comedian Franklin D Roosevelt US PresidentAnna Maxwell Martin actor Joan Rhodes strongwomanSusie Boyt novelist Judy Garland film starReferences Edit Great Lives at radiolistings co ukExternal links Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Great Lives Great Lives at BBC Online Detailed list of Great Lives episodes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Great Lives amp oldid 1102982122, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
